Policy and advocacy for sanitation

The momentum and scale of the Swachh Bharat Mission – Gramin (SBM-G) is unprecedented. The speed of implementation means that the identification of gaps and finding answers to these in ways that provide practical ideas for policy and practice can have exceptionally widespread impact provided they can be timely, relevant and actionable. The trade-offs between timeliness and the time required for conventional academic rigour are vast. Fortunately, a range of innovations and approaches have recently been developed and applied in India for timely and practical learning on sanitation.

Sanitation and Hygiene in Africa: Where do We Stand? (IWA Publishing 2013, eds Piers Cross and Yolande Coombes) takes stock of progress made by African countries through the AfricaSan process since 2008 and the progress needed to meet the MDG on sanitation by 2015 and beyond. This book addresses priorities which have been identified by African countries as the key elements which need to be addressed in order to accelerate progress.

A growing body of evidence shows that there is a strong causal link between exposure to poor sanitation and detrimental health, human capital, and economic outcomes. At the same time a number of recent impact evaluations of specific sanitation interventions show mixed results. waterlines.jpg

This heterogeneity in findings raises the questions of whether and how the demonstrated benefits of improved sanitation can be consistently achieved through regular project implementation.

The momentum and scale of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) is unprecedented. Since the launch of the programme by the prime minister in October 2014, there has been an astonishing acceleration in the construction of toilets, with five crore built in three years. The scale and complexity facing the SBM-G make it, we believe, more challenging than any other rural development programme in the world. Driven forward with impressive leadership and dynamism, shortcomings are inevitable and rapid learning and adjustments vital and imperative for sustainable success.

In September 2017, as part of a research consultancy for the CLTS Knowledge Hub at the Institute of Development Studies, I travelled across India with the aim to study the adoption of septic tanks in rural India. The findings were fascinating and daunting at the same time. Quality of toilet technologies and faecal sludge management were found to be neglected areas across the states in India.

Monday morning and the UNC Water and Health conference begins…there’s plenty of coffee to overcome the jetlag and joy in reconnecting with friends, colleagues and associates from around the world. Conferences in the WASH sector tend to be an incredible mix of academics, government officials, global decision-makers, donors and this one is no different. Some of us come with detailed knowledge of a specific context – a village, district or region. Others bring global and nationally representative data and show trends over decades.

The Indian Government's Swachh Bharat Mission just turned three years old. Truth vs Hype examines the data and on the ground realities to investigate progress and the claims of a scheme on which an estimated Rs. 50,000 crore have already been spent. Watch the NDTV video here